Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has completed a hat-trick of green deals within one week, demonstrating the firm's credentials in one of its five strategic areas of focus: decarbonisation.
A corporate team – which drew on specific expertise from colleagues in employment, intellectual property, and projects and infrastructure – has advised Jericho Energy Ventures on its equity investment into Supercritical Solutions. Jericho Energy Ventures is focused on advancing the low-carbon energy transition with investments in hydrogen technologies, energy storage, carbon capture and new energy systems. It takes investment stakes in early-stage low-carbon technologies and green energy companies. Supercritical is a hydrogen technology company which enables the production of the lowest cost of hydrogen using renewables. The green hydrogen is produced from water, with zero emissions.
Meanwhile, projects and infrastructure specialists advised North London Waste Authority on its contract with Acciona to build the UK’s most advanced energy recovery facility. The state of the art recycling and waste facilities in north will convert household waste into electricity for up to 127,000 homes, and provide heat and hot water for up to 50,000 local homes, removing the need for gas boilers. It will also prevent black bin bag waste from ending up in landfill, and save the equivalent of 215,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
At the same time, experts from the firm's marine and international trade, and ship finance, practices have advised Höegh Autoliners on the acquisition of a series of zero carbon ready Aurora class PCTC vessels. Höegh has ordered four Aurora class vessels, with an option to order up to eight more as part of its fleet renewal programme. The vessels' multi-fuel engine can run on marine gas oil and LNG. With modifications, the vessel can transition to use future zero carbon fuels including ammonia or methanol. The vessels' innovative design allows up to 9,100 cars to be transported, making the Aurora class the world's largest and most sustainable car carrier.
"When we launched our new strategy at the tail end of last year, we were clear that we wanted to move towards a sector focused approach," said Eifion Morris, Chief Executive, Stephenson Harwood. "It's about harnessing the extensive industry expertise we have in five core areas – decarbonisation, life sciences, private capital and funds, technology, and transportation and trade – from across our legal specialisms, thereby creating a one-stop shop for clients in these industries."
"It's early days in our putting these plans into action, however, I already knew that we had extensive experience across the firm in the decarbonisation sector, but that we had historically not been very good at shouting about it. These three matters in one week are a great demonstration of the breadth of that expertise, supporting clients to achieve their business goals by bringing together the deep sector knowledge of lawyers across our business, to offer a genuinely seamless and commercially focused service. You can see from these deals just how extensive our experience in decarbonisation is, with experts from virtually all of the firm's legal disciplines involved in one or other."
The deal teams were as follows:
Jericho Energy Ventures – Sam Gray, James Day, Yuki Yue, Michele Aubertin, Matilda Whittingham, Joshua Cunnington, Graeme Barton and Sarah Phillips
North London Waste Authority – Rebecca Carter, Richard Pike, Jenna Plush and Phil Harris
Höegh Autoliners – Max Lemanski, Stuart Beadnall, Hayley Broome, Jonathan Ward, Catherine Tse and Joanna Tuft